Lloyds Banking to slash 9,000 jobs

Bruce Horovitz

USA TODAY

Britain's Lloyds Banking Group, one of the oldest banks in the United Kingdom, said Tuesday it will eliminate 9,000 jobs over the next three years and close up to 200 branches.

The bank, which was founded in 1765, said the move was being made in an effort to improve efficiency. The banking group, which was rescued during the financial crisis and has been partly owned by British taxpayers since then, has faced enormous pressures to cut costs.

While much of the global banking industry experienced a strong recovery since the worst of the financial crisis, some banks have continued to struggle no thanks to the Eurozone crisis. At the same time, regulations continue to change and create a demanding regulatory environment for the industry.

Three years ago, the bank's executives agreed to keep the bank's number of branches at a consistent level despite the cuts, but Chief Executive Antonio Horta-Osorio confirmed on Tuesday that strategy has changed.

The closures will affect roughly a tenth of its network of 2,000 branches. The bank said many of the branch closures would be in town centers where the bank has more than one facility.

Lloyds expects customers to continue shifting to online services and self-service machines instead of having face-to-face contact in branches. It plans to invest 1 billion pounds ($1.61 billion) in digital technology in the next three years.

Finance director George Culmer said the job cuts are "regrettable" and reflect changing customer needs.

The announcements came as the bank reported an improvement in earnings as the broader U.K. economy recovered.

Lloyds is the fourth oldest bank in the United Kingdom. Lloyds Banking Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange.